It’s been rumored for months, and now Apple has confirmed that the new iPhone 7 will not have a headphone jack. This will likely disappoint millions of users who have invested in cool headphones over the years, but now it’s time to get new gear if you want the new iPhone.

Apple also introduced the new AirPods pictured above, which look like cool headphones but right away highlight one critical issue – these things will be very easy to lose! Big headphones are one thing, but these small ones can easily be lost as they’ll no longer be attached to a cord.

Apple points out that the new AirPods will be very easy to use as you can simply take them out and they’re ready to use with all your devices. You can put them in your ears and they connect instantly. They can sense when they’re in your ears and pause when you take them out.

So this will be an adjustment for many consumers, but Apple tends to change habits with their designs and it will be interesting to see how these new devices are adopted.

This fight drags on with both sides holding firm. Tim Cook has said he’s willing to take this one to the Supreme Court.

The FBI wants access to a terrorists phone. Apple wants to prevent creating a back door that can be exploited by hackers on phones in the future. Frankly, this is an overly simplistic overview in a case where all parties are describing the problem differently.

Christmas shopping has certainly evolved over the years. With gadgets now dominating our lives, they also dominate our Christmas shopping, even for younger kids as the age minimum for smart phones in many families keeps getting lower. Sure, boys still love footballs and girls love their dolls, and parent will buy all sorts of things large and small. Clothes and stocking stuffers and trivial gifts like cards puzzle frames are still common, but gadgets have certainly become the most important item on many gift lists.

The gift guides will be coming out soon, and you can expect the iPhone 5 to dominate many of these lists, and that shouldn’t be a surprise. The only thing holding it back is that so many people have already purchased one, as the introduction of the iPhone in many ways was an early Christmas for those involved in the logistics of delivering the new phone. The iPhone hysteria is certainly good for companies like UPS and serves as a warmup for the crazy Christmas season.

Despite the maps fiasco, the new iPhone 5 is obviously a hit. But it’s certainly not for everyone with the high price tag. Parents in particular will be searching for less expensive alternatives, and many parents frankly don’t want to spoil 10-year old kids with a new iPhone. Yet the pressure remains. So scour the upcoming holiday gift guides for other ideas that will make the kids smile.

Tech developer ADR Studios has revealed a new concept design, that is sure to make the many Instagram users in the world gather their pitchforks and torches (or just start a cause on Kickstarter) and plead for someone to make this a mass produced reality.

Meet the Instagram camera.

That is a digital handheld camera that can print an instant photo from the model, complete with all of the features the Instagram app allows. What strikes me right away about this project is:

A. That’s a beautiful camera. Not just “hipster cool” but genuinely well designed.

B. This is an incredible marriage of times gone by charm (the polaroid this whole thing is based off of) and new technology (Instagram, obviously), that wouldn’t look out of place in a 50’s sci-fi where a vague idea of what future technology might hold, was paired with a current product to create something that’s just kind of out there.

C. Far from a novelty, this thing could actually make a practical investment considering its’ list of features.

Now again, this is still a concept and as of now, no one has plans to make this thing on a retail level. Still though, with the mass popularity of the Instagram app, and the many social networking friendly features this thing has, someone with the ability to make this would be a fool not to considering it’s almost literally a license to print money.

The biggest technology and gadget show, CES, just kicked off in Las Vegas, and as usual much of the talk surrounds Apple:

Apple is the only company that consistently gets big buzz out of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas — without even attending.

This year will be no different.

Connected TVs — TVs that connect to and can access content from the Internet — will be a big part of CES this year. And just about everyone in tech expects Apple at some point to launch such a television — an iTV — that easily consumes and shares with other Apple devices content served from the company’s media-storing iCloud.

Microsoft made news earlier by saying this was the last year they would attend CES/ Why attend if Apple gets all the buzz anyways? Maybe Microsoft should focus on new products instead of protecting its Windows/Office cash cow? Or maybe not . . .